Against the Wind
by Snowsparx
Summary: After the events of Z is for Zenith Hay Lin tries to tell Eric about her powers. The only problem is soon after revealing her secret, Hay Lin gets captured! Can the guardians and their friends find Hay Lin before something sinister happens? T for violence
1. The stars can't lie

Hello! This is Snowsparx. I've had this idea for a while, so I decided to go with it. Reviews would be nice, and flames aren't appreciated, but I guess it's fine. This story will be TV show based.

And if you happen to notice any mistakes, feel free to point them out! Nobody's perfect. That would be boring.

Enjoy!

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Prologue

Eric Lyndon lay back on the roof of his observatory home and smiled. The sky was clear, the chirping crickets weren't unbearable, and his girlfriend Hay Lin was with him. She was wearing a pale purple shirt with a darker purple vest over it along with a pair of jeans. Her hair was tied up into her signature ponytails, and if he was correct, the bands holding them up had been his gift to her a while ago. He was glad that he was able to spend a little time with her.

He had called her up almost reluctantly, because she had always had plans with her friends when he'd asked. He'd hardly seen her at all the few months. But as soon as he'd called to ask her to go stargazing, she'd apologized and promised to explain everything. He hoped she'd start talking soon. She was just sitting there, staring blankly at the sky. She'd fidget every once and a while, but her face stayed blank, as if she were having a war inside herself and no one else could hear her.

This wasn't exactly true. Hay Lin was having an inner war, but it wasn't with herself.

"_Hay Lin, you know why you can't tell him. Phobos and Nerissa may be taken care of, but there are still people out there after us. Will says that the new computer teacher has been watching her closely, and just the other day Irma and Cornelia thought someone was following them." _Taranee said telepathically to Hay Lin. The fire guardian had always been stubborn, but Hay Lin had hoped she might let this slip.

"_But it's unfair! I practically dumped him for the last two months for guardian business, and I promised him an explanation. It would be soooo much better if he just knew what I was doing, instead of thinking that I was ditching him! Pleeeease!" _the air guardian begged. She had tried to sound serious, but she wasn't sure how to make her thoughts sound any different from her usually cheerful demeanor.

"_No, and that's final. If anything, we should tell our parents first! After all, it would solve the problem of getting grounded whenever we have to go off and leaving our astral drops around." _Taranee finished. Hay Lin huffed and crossed her arms in defeat. Taranee was right, even if she hated to admit it.

Eric looked over at Hay Lin in a panic. She had come out of her blank stare, but now she just looked annoyed. He sat up and turned towards her.

"Are you not enjoying this? If you want, my grandfather can-"

"No! No, I'm sorry. I've been spacing out, and I promised you I'd explain about..." she trailed off and sat up too.

"It's just... I can't... tell you..." she said through gritted teeth. Eric looked at her and sighed.

"Well, if you can't tell me can you show me or something?" he asked, exasperated. Hay Lin suddenly grinned and jumped up.

"That's perfect! Come on, I'll show you!" she said, grabbing his arm and heading towards the edge of the roof.

"Woah! I know you're excited, but lets use the ladder-" Eric never finished his sentence, because Hay Lin let go of his hand and jumped off the roof!

"Hay Lin!" he exclaimed. He hesitated before looking down, afraid he might see his girlfriend lying on the ground in a crumpled mess. But instead of being injured and helpless, Hay Lin was _floating _near the edge. She rose up a little and looked at him nervously.

"Um, uh, yeah. This is why I was busy all those times." She said as she landed back on the roof. Eric couldn't help himself as he stared at her stupidly.

"You- you just flew!" he exclaimed. Hay Lin quickly hushed him.

"Shh! Do you want everyone else to know too! I have to keep it a secret." she said. Eric shook a little and sat down on the roof with his head in his hands.

"How... long have you... been able to do this?" he asked between gulps of air.

"A while now, actually. Sometimes I float when I become a little too excited too!" she admitted sheepishly. Eric looked at her a long while and then began to laugh.

"That was a great prank Hay Lin. Where are the camera's? I want to see how stupid I look when you told me that." he said as he stood up. Hay Lin's smile faded and she looked at the tiled roof they were standing on.

"Oh. Okay. I'll... show you tomorrow." she said as she climbed down the ladder. Eric watched her go as his face slowly formed a frown.

"Oh my gosh... She wasn't kidding..." he trailed off and watched Hay Lin run off towards Heatherfield.

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So, let me know what you think! I hope you'll all like it.

I'll update this either tomorrow or when I get five reviews, whichever comes first!

Edit: Fixed the time frame for about two months after the battle with Cedric.


	2. The day after

So, yeah! Chapter two. Here's some shout outs to the reviewers!

Lexvan: Eeep! You wouldn't believe how loud I squealed when I saw you were the first to reply to my story! I've been reading a lot of W.i.t.c.h. fanfictions, and I really love yours! *****faints*

S.M (): Thanks! I hope the rest of my story will be cool too.

Sorry for this being a day late. I couldn't decide what to write!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Yet. *evil laugh*

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Chapter 1:

The next morning Hay Lin woke up in her bed and found she was still wrapped up tightly in her blankets. She squeezed her eyes shut and wished that last night had gone better. But she only had herself to blame. Taranee had warned her not to tell Eric, and even though he didn't know about them being Guardians, he probably thought she was some weird freak with powers. She sighed and looked to her alarm clock and saw that she still had a half hour before she needed to wake up. There was no way she was going to go back to sleep after this, so she got up and decided to take a shower.

"_Maybe I'll try and confront Eric about it before school starts. Yeah! I can just head over early since I'm up." _She decided. She turned off the water and quickly donned a towel to head to her room. She pulled out a pair of black leggings and a white dress from her closet. She added a black belt over her dress, grabbed her school bag, and was out the door on her bike within a few minutes.

It was already busy out on the streets of Heatherfield as people were driving to their jobs, the roads packed nearly bumper to bumper. They were totally obvious to the girl on the bicycle as she rode down the sidewalk. All except one. The black Prius had been driving along after her, and due to the heavy traffic it did not seem to be following her. She soon entered the schoolyard and began to chain her bike up.

"Hay Lin!" came the voice of Martin Tubbs, the nerd with a crush on her best friend Irma. He ran up to her and soon came to a halt, panting and leaning on his knees for support.

"Yes Martin? Irma's not here yet, if that's what you need." she said, locking her bike chain and scrambling the combo for good measure. Martin stood up straight and tried to look important.

"Principal Knickerbocker wants to see you in her office right away!" he said, imitating the stern principals voice for added effect. Hay Lin stifled a giggle and nodded at his nearly spot on imitation.

"Thanks Martin!" she said as she turned to enter the school. "I'll just have to talk to Eric later." She said.

Hay Lin was about to enter the building when a strong gust of wind blew. She heard a voice, barely above a whisper, speaking.

"_Everything is about to change, young Guardian. Be brave... And I will see you soon." _The voice trailed off and the wind died down. Hay Lin blinked for a moment and entered the building without a second thought towards the mysterious voice.

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Hay Lin had arrived in the Principal's office only moments ago, but she already felt on edge as Ms. Knickerbocker closed the door behind her and locked it before glancing at Hay Lin nervously.

"Before we begin Hay Lin, I have a very important question to ask you. Do you promise to answer truthfully? Because if you don't, the lives of all you hold dear may be in danger." she said. Hay Lin's jaw nearly dropped, but she nodded to the distraught principal anyway.

"Good. Now, I need to know. Do you and the four other girls you are friends with have... special powers?" the air guardians eyes widened. What should she do?

"_Taranee! Knickerbocker has me locked in her office and she wants to know if we have powers! What do I do!" _She said telepathically to her friend.

"_Stall her! I'll try and get up there as soon as I can." _The fire guardian replied after a slight delay.

Hay Lin turned back to the principal who was now looking at her expectantly.

"Powers? Like, Superman and the Green Lantern?" she asked with an innocent smile. She hoped it looked more innocent than she felt.

"Stop avoiding the question! I need an answer so I can help you." Knickerbocker replied. Hay Lin bit her lip. She was going to lie when a sharp rapping was heard on the door.

"Open up! It's the FBI!" came a harsh male voice. Hay Lin stood up and before the principal could answer jumped through the window of her second story office and hurtled towards the ground below!

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Sorry it's a bit short! And sorry it's late. But I'm late, so have your update! *shoves*


	3. Doors aren't soundproof

Erp! Sorry about the inconsistent updates. I will try to be more consistent later.

Lexvan: riogheirg Stop asking me questions I haven't figured out all the answers yet! X3

S.M. (): Ah, yes. Most questions have answers! Hopefully a couple were in this chapter.

This chapter is going to focus mainly on the other girls and company. Some questions will be answered!

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Taranee had always liked to get to school early, but the universe seemed to be working against her today. As she sat in the back of her older brothers car, all she could do was worry. And chat with her friends with her telepathy.

"_I already told you Will. Hay Lin contacted me telling me that Knickerbocker had called her into her office, and I told her to stall. I haven't been able to contact her since!"_

"_As soon as you get there you have to find her. Who knows what could have happened to her! And after all this time, how did Knickerbocker find out about us?" _Will replied._ "Contact the others, I'll be there a little later. My mom wants to have a talk with me before I go."_

Will ended the connection and Taranee contacted the last two guardians to let them know about their situation.

"_Irma, Cornelia! You need to come up to school right away. I think Hay Lin's in trouble."_

"_WHAT?" _came the frantic reply of Irma, who had been sleeping up until now._ "You should warn a girl before yelling in her brain like that, T. What's wrong with Hay-Hay?"_

"_She contacted me a little while ago letting me know that Knickerbocker called her to her office and demanded to know if we all had powers or not." _Taranee said.

"_What happened after that?" _Cornelia asked.

"_I don't know. I haven't been able to get a hold of her since that last-" _Taranee's thoughts were interrupted a her brothers car jerked to a stop.

"_T? Hey T, what's going on now? Is it Hay?" _Irma asked when the fire guardian did not respond.

"_Not anymore." _she said glumly. She opened her brothers car door and ran out towards the school.

"Hey! Taranee! Where are you going?" Peter shouted after her.

"I'll explain later!" she shouted back. "I have to find Hay Lin!"

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Principal Knickerbocker was in her office chair, rubbing her temples when she heard a shy knocking at the door.

"Come in." she said drearily. When Taranee Cook entered, she blinked in surprise and quickly sat up straight.

"What happened?" Taranee asked, looking at the broken window.

"Your friend jumped out of it." Taranee looked alarmed, but Knickerbocker waved her hand.

"She's fine. But I'm not sure for how much longer. She's being chased by the FBI. They have video evidence of her flying, turning invisible, and many other things. Lucky for you, only of her." Before Taranee could reply, Knickerbocker interrupted again.

"I know about the Guardians dear. I just hadn't been able to confirm who they were. Now, if you'll just wait for your friends to open the door and come in, we can begin." Taranee looked at the door and saw three guilty looking teens slowly poking their eyes so they could see through the window. Taranee waved and they all waved back.

"Sorry Ms. Knickerbocker." Irma said. Cornelia and Will followed her in, and the four Guardians sat down and faced their principal.

"Now, I'm assuming you three heard everything I just said to Miss Cook?" The three girls nodded and Knickerbocker continued.

"Very well. I'm part of the International Earth Magic Council. Most of us are Principals in different magical cities around the world. We're led by a... less than fortunate seer these days. She has visions of the future- but there's a large delay. So I guess she has visions of the past. She finally determined that you four- five were the Guardians of the Veil. And that you are all in grave danger."

"Uh, sorry to butt in, but what powers do you have?" Irma asked. She had been looking the broken window up and down for a while, and had stopped only to pay attention to the principal once her question had been voiced.

"It's not very impressive. I can make any part of my body glow for a short amount of time. The Council figured that I would be safe to send out, seeing as my power is pathetic enough not to be noticed by anyone." she said, holding her hand out. It glowed a faint white for a moment, and then she put her hand down.

"Back to the matter at hand, our leader finally had a vision of the future before it happened this time." the principal sighed and wiped her forehead.

"Hay Lin will be captured. In an effort to make her powers stronger, she will effectively be destroyed." The room was dead silent. Irma gulped and looked to Will.

"Are you sure?" Will asked, her throat dry.

"Yes. I don't know the specifics, but apparently after Hay Lin, there will be changes for the rest of you too." Knickerbocker replied.

"I don't know much about your powers, but I do know that if anyone can stop what is going to happen to Hay Lin it will be you four. Now, go after her!" Knickerbocker told them.

"But what about-"

"School is canceled. The FBI are parked in the back lot, for Pete's sake! And I have a broken window to attend to anyway." Knickerbocker said.

"Now, out of my office!" she shouted. The girls scrambled out and opened the door quickly. There was a hiss of pain as the four scrambled out the door and saw that they had a few eavesdroppers.

"Oh god." Will said.

"Nigel? Eric? W-were you listening to that?" Taranee stuttered.

"And exactly how much did you hear?" Irma demanded.

"All of it." The two boys admitted.

"Well, this sucks." Cornelia said.

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Don't forget to review! Every time you review I gain a level. Heheh.


	4. Fallen

Shout out time!

Lexvan: Let the finding out begin! x3

S.M. (): Heh, I try to keep my readers on their toes if I can.

(): Thanks, I hope you like this chapter.

Cows (): Yes. I in no way support jumping out windows!

I own nothing. :

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Eric and Nigel stood up to face the group of angry guardians with grim expressions. If they had known that listening in on the principals conversation came with a side of angry girlfriend, they wouldn't have done it for sure. The normally calm fire guardian was currently yelling at the two eavesdroppers at the top of her lungs.

"-Inconsiderate, nosy, little bas-" Irma silenced the girl before she could go any farther.

"We get it, T. They're a couple of jerks." she said. She took her hand away and Taranee crossed her arms angrily.

"Schools been canceled, what are you two doing in here?" Will questioned.

"Eric saw Taranee run inside before, and he caught me outside. We got in before everything got really crazy." Nigel said.

"I have to find her. I really screwed up on our date last night, and I want to apologize." Eric said.

"I promise I won't tell anyone about your secret. Your friendship is way more important to me than the fact that you're superheroes." he finished.

"Same here. Plus, it finally makes sense what you were all doing when you were constantly ditching us." Nigel added. The girls shared a look between them, and then Will spoke.

"I don't appreciate that you all spied on us, but right now finding Hay Lin before the FBI is more important." Will said. The two boys nodded.

"I'm going to try and contact Hay Lin again." Taranee said, and she shut her eyes to concentrate.

"Tell her to head back towards the school. I have a plan..." Will said, the group closing in to listen to her.

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Hay Lin ran across the rooftops of Heatherfield's buildings in a panic. Even though she was invisible, she knew the FBI was following her somehow, and they were getting closer. She had to come up with a plan- and soon. Before she got caught- or worse!

She leaped over the next few buildings and landed safely on the edge. She took a few deep breaths before turning around to see the helicopter was still following her.

"_Hay Lin!"_ came the overpowering mental shout. Hay Lin nearly fell off the rooftop in surprise, but managed to jump to the next building using her air powers before she could fall.

"_Taranee! I'm so sorry! I didn't know what to do, and I panicked-"_

"_That doesn't matter right now." _Taranee interrupted her friends thought. _"Where are you heading now?"_

"_I'm heading away from the school, and the armed men and helicopters. But they're everywhere!" _Hay Lin said as she jumped over a satellite dish and onto the next house.

"_Come back towards the school! We're all here, and if you can get to us we can open a fold and get out of here at least temporarily."_

"_Okay, but there are FBI in the parking lot! Even though I'm invisible they can still see me. What if they shoot me?" _Hay Lin asked worriedly.

"_Don't worry, we'll distract them or something. Just hurry!" _Taranee broke the connection and Hay Lin stopped on the roof she was on.

"Here I gooooo!" she said as she charged at the helicopter. She flew down into the alley below it, and blew bast some unsuspecting FBI agents. She grinned and flew out of the alley and into a parking lot. She heard some shouting and turned to see a policeman aiming a gun at her. And then everything went black.

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"Hey T, I know I'm just being a bit paranoid, but shouldn't Hay-Hey be here by now?" Irma asked worriedly. They were standing around a window on Sheffield Institutes second floor, and it had been about five minutes since Taranee had broken the mental connection.

"I don't know. I can't contact her anymore. I could feel her coming for a bit, and then it just stopped." she admitted. She peered down into the parking lot where the FBI vans were parked, with a few armed men standing around looking alert. One of them put his hand to his ear, and then motioned for the others to follow. They all piled into the cars and drove off.

"What does that mean? They just left!" Nigel asked, puzzled.

"Oh my god. They must have gotten her!" Will said in a panic.

"Maybe they just... called them for backup?" Irma said doubtfully. Eric looked out the window at the retreating cars.

"Lets go look for her! Maybe she- she-" he began.

"If we get caught looking for her, we're no better off than she is! At least if we wait for things to settle down, we have a better chance of finding some sort of evidence."Cornelia said. She was staring at the floor, not meeting the eyes of the others.

Irma looked like she was about to argue, but Will stopped her.

"I know you're upset, but Cornelia's right. We can't risk anyone else getting... taken. Let's just go home and meet up later tonight." she finished. The rest of the group nodded and they all headed home.

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"Wait up Nigel!" Taranee called to her boyfriend as he began the long walk home.

"Hey. I know you want to talk but, could you just give me a little time to digest all this?" he asked.

"Oh. That's okay. Do you... have any questions?" she asked as she walked next to him.

"Yeah. Why did you guys keep this a secret from us for so long?" he stopped and looked her in the eyes.

"To protect you. We have a lot of enemies, even here on Earth." Taranee said.

"What do you mean, 'Even on Earth'?" Nigel asked.

"We... we are the Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions. We protect all the worlds." she explained. Nigel shook his head and continued walking. Taranee followed after him.

"What sort of powers do you all have?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Will is our leader, she uses Energy and Quintessence, which is sort of like lightning. She also can talk to electronics. Irma can control water, and she has some mind control powers as well. I control fire and can communicate with the other team members in our minds. Cornelia can control the earth and plants, and she has telekinesis. Hay Lin controls the air and can turn invisible. We can all fly." Taranee took a deep breath.

"It's a lot more complicated than that, but I think you're confused enough already." she said with a sigh. Nigel stopped and hugged her.

"Please just promise me you won't do anything really stupid. You may have all these powers, but you're still human. Please stay that way." he said. Taranee hugged him back and nodded.

"I promise." she whispered.

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Sorry for the late update. It's been a crazy week to say the least. I wish I could have a weekend forever... *dies*


	5. Gone

PhantomPride15: Thanks for the story alert and review!

Cows: Thank you. I'll try and keep the trend going!

Lexvan: Eep. I must now add Cassidy into the mix! *flails*

S.M.: Sometimes it's just good to say "What he said."

I finally figured out the parentheses. Darnit! Sorry all you anonymous people.

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Eric had been heading home to the observatory, but somehow he had ended up at the Silver Dragon. He didn't know what to do, especially because the restaurant seemed closed. But he soon heard someone whispering his name in the alley beside the building and he went to investigate. It was Hay Lin's grandmother!

"Psst! Eric, come here!" she waved him over and he obeyed as quickly as he could. Once inside, Yan Lin locked the door.

"You know about everything then?" asked another Yan Lin coming down from the stairs.

"More or less..." he said, dumbfounded.

"I'm Mira Lin, and this is Yan Lin." said Mira Lin, winking at the confused boy.

"The FBI were just here, and they had to explain to Hay Lin's parents that they were going to be taking her away... So I wouldn't talk to them yet." Yan Lin said. "But I have someone here who might be able to help you find my granddaughter. Blunk!"

The small green passling scurried up from the basement holding a pair of Hay Lin's goggles.

"Air girl smell nice, like strawberries!" he said. Eric decided that it was not the time to be freaking out over a little green creature, and followed it as it dashed out the door.

"Good luck Eric! And try not to let anyone see you two!" shouted Mira Lin.

Eric followed after the small green creature as he sniffed the alleyway floors with determination. He stopped at the foot of a building for a moment and then turned a corner into a parking lot. He stopped and stood upright before backing up into Eric.

"Trail ends here. Blunk go home now!" he said nervously.

"Hey, wait! What's wrong?" Eric shouted after him. But the passling was gone. Eric looked back to where he had stopped and nearly threw up his breakfast.

There was a long streak of blood going across the parking lot, and at the end there was a small puddle of the stuff. Eric pulled out his phone and quickly dialed the Silver Dragon.

"Sorry, but we're-"

"Yan Lin, or Mira Lin, you have to tell the girls to come here right away! I know they said to meet up later, but it's about you know who. Blunk knows where to go." he said before hanging up. He stared at the puddle for a moment before sitting down and holding his hands in his head.

"I can't help but feel this is all my fault..." he sighed and waited for Blunk to return with the girls.

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Irma had traveled home by herself, only to find her father's police car parked out front. He never did that unless something serious was going on. And she had a feeling she knew what this serious something was. She resisted the urge to rush in and simply opened the door and walked into the living room.

"Hey mom, dad, I'm h- what's with the long faces?" she asked her parents. They were sitting on the couch, and they looked tired. But it was only about ten in the morning!

"Irma honey, sit down. Your father needs to tell you something." Anna said, shifting uncomfortably on the couch. Irma sat down and her bag slid off her shoulder onto the ground.

"It's... about your friend Hay Lin." the policeman began. Irma slumped back into the couch, trying to appear lazy rather than shocked.

"W-what about her?" she asked, her voice cracking. She was sure they hadn't missed that slip up, but her father continued nonetheless.

"This morning, we were called in to back up the FBI to apprehend a suspected super who could turn invisible and fly. My partner and I were stationed in a parking lot with a thermal imaging camera to help capture them, and when we saw them flying through the air, I panicked... I fired a shot and the FBI got their captive..." Irma was on the edge of her seat.

"_Please don't say you shot Hay Lin, please let this be some misunderstanding..." _Irma begged silently, trying to keep her watery eyes from overflowing.

"I-I'm so sorry... I shot Hay Lin and the FBI have taken her away." Irma let the tears flow, and she ran up to her room before either of her parents could react. She locked the door, threw herself onto her bed, and buried her face in a pillow.

"Hay Lin!"she screamed into her pillow."Hay Lin's gone!"

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Will, Taranee and Cornelia soon arrived at the Silver Dragon and followed the passling on his second trip to the parking lot. As soon as they were in the alleyway before the lot, he whimpered and ran back. Blunk's nervousness didn't make any of them feel more

"Air girl's boyfriend to the right." he said before running out of the three girl's eyesight. They cautiously walked towards Eric, who was standing with his back to them.

"What did you want us to see?" Will asked, her throat dry. Eric turned around and stepped out of the way. The bloodstain was still as evident as ever, even dry, and the girls approached it with disdain.

"Are... you sure this is from her?" Although the blood was dried, it was obvious that it wasn't too old.

Cornelia looked around the lot and walked over to a small clump of weeds poking out of the ground nearby.

"Give me a moment. I think they saw what happened." Cornelia said. She closed her eyes and touched the small leaves of the weed. For a few moments nothing happened, but Cornelia suddenly gasped and fell to the ground with tears in their eyes.

"Oh my god, Irma..." the earth guardian who so usually fought with the water guardian suddenly felt pity for her friend.

"What? What's wrong with Irma?" Will said. Cornelia stood up and walked back over to the group. She wiped some tears from her face before speaking.

"The plant showed me what happened. Irma's father shot Hay Lin and handed her over to the police." she admitted.

The group remained silent for a few moments, and then Eric started walking away.

"I'll see you in school tomorrow." he mumbled. The three guardians looked one more time at the bloodstain before walking away.

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Woo. Just in case any of you were wondering, it's early spring. Yeah.

Oh, and after the next chapter, there's going to be a guest author! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter~


	6. Meet the Dragons

Woo! Chapter Five. Yup. Next chapter will be a guest chapter! ;)

Lexvan: Heheh, I'm kinda evil. And Blunk runs extremely fast! Everything will turn out okay~

Titantnt: Thanks for all those reviews! I appreciate it. :3

Anonymous person with no name: Ayup.

Gosh, it's so windy outside! Hay Lin's angry at me for having her shot. I own nothing.

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It had been two days. Two long days since Hay Lin had been taken. Eric and Nigel had been thoroughly briefed on the Guardians past adventures and current powers, but it even the time taken to explain everything was not enough to distract them from their missing friend. And to make matters worse, two more of their friends had gone missing.

"Cassidy and Angelo? What would anyone want with them?" Matt asked.

"Well, what would anyone want with Hay Lin? They're different. We're different." Cornelia said in reply. They all sat in the park, Will sitting on Matt's lap and Taranee leaning against Nigel. The others sat apart from each other. A few children ran around the grass near them, playing happily and blissfully unaware of the groups problems.

"We can't focus on why they were taken, we need a plan to get them out. And soon." Will argued.

"We don't even know where they were taken. We should go to Kandrakar and ask for the Oracle's help! The big man in the sky will know what to do!" Irma exclaimed.

"I think that's a good course of action to take. Lets guardian up and go see him then." Taranee said as she stood up. They were all restless, especially after two days of nothing.

"Alright. It's a good thing it's Friday." Will grumbled as she stood up. They followed her farther into the park and into the nearby forest. There, the girls turned to Nigel and Eric.

"Um, it's probably best if you don't come with us. The Oracle-"

"We're coming." Eric said coldly. Will grimaced and nodded.

"Guardians unite!"

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Hay Lin woke with a start. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the bright light shining down on her from the ceiling, and she became aware that there was an oxygen mask on her face. She tried to move to take it off, and discovered that her arms were strapped down. And that she was in her guardian uniform. She struggled to be free of her bonds, and a she heard a voice coming from somewhere overhead.

"Don't struggle, we'll send someone in to let you out in a moment." came the monotone drawl. Hay Lin heard a beeping and then a loud clicking noise, and the metal bands around her arms and legs snapped open. She sat up and two people in white bodysuits came in the room. She removed the mask from her face and put it on the table.

"Please come with us. Any resistance will not be tolerated." Hay Lin nodded and wordlessly followed the two suited figures out of the white room and down a bright hallway. They stopped in front of a door, and after entering a combo, let her in.

"Hay Lin!" the air guardian barely had any time to react as Cassidy, the former water guardian, rushed forward and embrace her.

"Cassidy? What- where are we?" she asked.

"As far as we can tell, some sort of government facility. We've been here for two days."

"We?" Hay Lin turned to the other occupant of the room, who was sitting on one of the three chairs.

"Angelo! They took you too?" Hay Lin exclaimed.

"Yes. We were taken soon after we heard you had been taken. Now we're here." he said, sighing.

"Uh... Oh my gosh!" Hay Lin looked to her stomach, and saw that it was wrapped tight with bandages. She leaned against the wall and slowly slid down.

"He shot me. I can't believe it!" she breathed. Cassidy approached her and sat down next to the distraught girl.

"_It's okay young one. I am here now." _Hay Lin looked around the room confusedly.

"Did you just say something?" she asked, looking to Angelo. He frowned and shook his head. Hay Lin gripped her head in her hands. Maybe she was just tired.

"_You are not mistaken. I told you I would see you soon." _came the voice. Hay Lin felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to face Cassidy.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. Hay Lin shook her head.

"It's nothing. Um, so what exactly happened to you two?"

"Well, it all started the other day..."

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"Welcome Guardians and friends." greeted the Oracle. For once, just the bald leader himself was standing alone in the great halls of Kandrakar. Halinor and the other members of the Council were nowhere in sight.

"I know why you have come, but first, follow me to the hall of Aurameres please." The guardians exchanged a few looks with Matt in Shagon form, Nigel and Eric before following the Oracle towards the source of the Guardians powers. What they saw what was going on in the chamber, they all gaped.

There were four tiny dragons running around, and Halinor, Tibor and Luba were frantically trying to grab them, but they flew just out of their reach every time they were close. As soon as they saw the four Guardians, they ran up and sat in front of them like puppies.

In front of Taranee sat a small red dragon with a triangular head, pointy wings, and orange spikes going down its back and tail. It snorted happily and jumped onto her shoulders, where it snuggled up to her. In front of Irma sat a light blue dragon with darker blue frills and fins. Instead of a tail, it had a large fin . It lay down and yawned, looking up at Irma with a lazy smile. The dragon in front of Cornelia was the largest of the four, and it had vines entwined around rocks on its back that made it look ragged. But nevertheless, the brown and green dragon spread its large wings and proceeded to smush Cornelia under it's large girth. The last dragon was the longest of the four, and its black feather wings looked spiked and dangerous against its pale pink scales. It hissed and the other dragons returned to their positions in front of the surprised girls.

"Why are there a bunch of baby dragons running around Kandrakar?" Will asked the Oracle.

"With every generation of Guardians, the dragons that became your source of power evaluate their current masters and decide whether or not they are worthy of being their partners, so to speak. They would not have decided to come out so soon had it not been for the actions of the air dragon, which is why they are so small. If you'll follow me, we can go somewhere more suitable to talk." the bald man said. The group from earth followed him out, eager to hear more. The four dragons and three council members also followed them into the main chamber to continue the conversation.

"As you know, the nymph Shin Jin and the four dragons left behind the Heart of Kandrakar when they left. But what you didn't know is that they each sealed a part of themselves into the Heart to aid a group of Guardians in a time of great need. That time has come, but it was not anticipated soon enough. As you can see, the dragons are not ready to help you rescue your friend yet."

"But where-"

"I was getting to that, young Eric. As I had mentioned, the air dragon sensed the danger to Hay Lin and separated from the other dragons earlier than we expected. He made quite a mess around the fortress before he finally escaped to earth. There he found Hay Lin and merged with her."

"Merged with her? What do you mean?" Irma asked, panicking. The blue dragon hissed and arched its back at the Oracle, sensing its masters distress.

"I think it will be easier if I just show you." he said, as a green screen of light appeared in front of the group.

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Cliffie! If you are confused, I'll send you apology cookies later. But for now, onto the guest chapter!

Oh, and if you can guess who the guest author is from this chapter, you get a brownie. I like to give away food. ._.


	7. Guest Chpt: Cassidy and Angelo captured

Welcome to the guest chapter, written by none other than Lexvan! You should check out his stories, he's got a lot of awesome ones. Now, on with the guestyness!

_**Cassidy & Angelo Captured**_

Sometime earlier, Cassidy Chacon was walking with one Angelo Vanders from the public pool. Cassidy was the former Water Guardian, who through a series of strange events ended up where she is now. A girl with the looks and mind of a fifteen year old girl. It took her some time but she's pretty much adjusted to her new life. She's still trying to get used to some things, like DVD players and music, but she's getting there.

When it comes to Angelo, well he comes from Fadden Hills. The same town Will Vandom comes from. The both of them are best friends that grew up together. He moved to Heatherfield about a week after the girls defeated Cedric. His parents died in a car crash when he was in school. He was six at the time. He now lives with his Uncle John as well as his grandparents, Joe Vanders and Kadma Starlighter Vanders. He is now fifteen and in a relationship with Cassidy. Much to Kadma and Joe's surprise.

Right now, both Cassidy and Angelo are leaving the public pool and heading to the bus stop to catch the city bus. Cassidy was dressed in a pair of blue sweatpants and sweat shirt seeing as she had her swimsuit on under them and a pair of white sneakers, while Angelo was dressed in a pair of black jeans, a white shirt and black and white sneakers with a brown jacket.

"Thanks for helping me with my training, Angelo.", Cassidy said. "I can't beleive I shaved some time off that lap. Granted three seconds isn't much."

"Aer you kidding me?", Angelo questioned witha smile. "Three seconds is pretty good! Heck! You beat Will's time by two seconds!"

"And how would you know about Will's time?", Cassdiy asked in a sly voice.

"She had me time her doing some laps the other day.", he said with a cheesy grin.

"And here I thought that I'd be the only girl you'd time swimmng laps!", Cassidy said pretending to have her feelings hurt.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I like seeing you in a swimsuit more.", Angelo said as they stood at the bus stop waiting for the city bus to come by.

"Now would that be because I'm you're girlfriend?", Cassidy questioned with a smirk.

"Yes.", Angelo said. "Yes, it is.", he said getting a laugh from Cassidy as she gently pushed him. "Well, it is! Remember when we got together?"

A smile came to Cassidy's face when she thought back to when she and Angelo became a couple. It was on Valentine's Day no less! They had some dates before that, but soon, they fell for each other and now... here they are. After thinking about that, Cassidy gave Angelo a kiss that he returned.

"What was that for?", Angelo asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

"For being a great boyfriend.", Cassidy said smiling.

"Well, then this is for being a great girlfriend.", Angelo said before giving Cassidy a kiss that she returned.

Just then, Cassidy's cell phone rang.

"Hello?", Cassidy said answering the phone.

"Cassidy! It's Cornelia! Listen!", the Earth Guardian said on the other end. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm at a bus stop with Angelo.", Cassidy asked. "Why?"

"Remember what I told you about Hay Lin being chased by the FBI and the cops?", Cornelia asked.

"Yeah.", Cassidy said. "Why? What's up?"

"We don't know.", Cornelia said. "Right now Blunk is leading us to where he and Eric found something. Whatever it is, it has Blunk spooked. I'm just calling to let you know to watch your back. If they're after W.I.T.C.H., then they might be after others like us. Like Matt and you."

"Gotcha.", Cassidy said. "Thanks for the heads up. Call me when you find out something."

"I will.", Cornelia said before hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?", Angelo asked.

"It was Cornelia.", Cassidy said. "She just called to tell me something."

"Oh. Okay.", Angelo said as he and Cassidy sat on the bench of the bus stop.

'Please be okay, Hay Lin.', Cassidy thought to herself.

Suddenly, Cassidy got this weird feeling that she was being watched. She then looked around the area and saw people walking around. But what caught her attention was a black car with tinted windows. It was then that something in the back of her mind told her to leave and leave now! So, she got up and grabbed Angelo's hand and lead him away from the bus stop.

"What's wrong, Cassidy?", Angelo asked as she pulled him along.

"I just feel like taking a walk today.", Cassidy said with a smile hoping that Angelo would agree with her. "We can go to the Silver Dragon and get something to eat."

"Okay.", Angelo said. "I do like their sweet and sour chicken on rice."

"Then let's go.", she said as they walked down the sidewalk.

Cassidy then looked back to see two people get out of the black car. One was a man while the other was a woman. Both were dressed in regular clothes, but they both had black shades. Cassidy saw the woman make a call on her cell phone while she and the man were walking across the street and began to follow them.

'Looks like Corny was right.', Cassidy thought to herself as she tried to think of a way to get away from them.

Just then two men came walking towards them. Both were in regular clothes with black shades.

'Great!', Cassidy thought to herself. 'Now what?'

Taking a chance, Cassidy went down an alley with Angelo right behind her.

"What's going on, Cassidy?", Angelo asked as they were running down the alley. "And what's with those people wearing the black shades?"

"You noticed that too, huh?", Cassidy asked as they ran.

"Kind of hard not to.", Angelo said. "Now what's going on?"

"I promise to tell you everything that I know later!", Cassidy said. "But right now, we have to get to the Silver Dragon!"

"Why the Silver Dragon?", Angelo questioned.

"You'll understand when we get there!", Cassidy said as they neared the end of the alley only for three men and two women in black shades to show up and block their path. "That is, if we can get there!"

They then turned around to see the three men and one woman from earlier blocking their other way out.

"You both have no where to go!", one of the men said. "Come with us quietly, and no one gets hurt!"

"Agent Barnes, reporting in.", one of the men said into wrist-com. "We have both Chacon and Vanders boxed in. About to capture."

"What the heck do you want with us?", Angelo questioned as the agents closed in on them.

"Just come along and you'll find out for yourself.", one of the female agents said.

"Sorry! But no!", Cassidy said before looking at Angelo.", I'm sorry, Angelo. I wish you didn't have to find out about this, this way."

"Find out what?", Angelo asked.

"This!", Cassidy said as she formed a large ball of water and shot it at the four agents that were blocking their way back the way they came.

"How did you...?", Angelo began to question before Cassidy dropped to her knees. "Cassidy!", he said as he knelt down to her. "You okay?"

"Wow!", Cassidy said catching her breath. "It sucks using your powers without being connected to an Auramere. Yannie was right when she says it drains you big time!"

"How did you do that?", Angelo questioned.

"No time to explain.", Cassidy said. "We need to get out of here! NOW!", she said as the remaining agents ran towards them. "Look out!"

Actting on instinct, and from what he learned from his Uncle John and grandparents about fighting, Angelo grabbed one of the male agents and flipped him over him and onto the ground! He then sweep kicked a female agent followed by punching another male one in the gut dropping him to the ground. He was ready for the rest when he felt someting hit his arm! He look to see a dart stick in his arm. He then began to feel weak and dizzy as he dropped to his knees.

"Angelo!", Cassidy cried out before she to was hit by a dart.

She turned to see one of the female and male agents each with a dart gun. She then began to feel the same way Angelo was feeling. They both then feel to their sides to weak to move. The last thing they saw was each other before everything went black. Just then a blue van pulled up. Some agents then came out of the van, grabbed Angelo and Cassidy and put them in the van and drove off. The other agents, in the alley then walked away as if nothing happened.

"Agent Barnes? Why did we have to take tha boy?", one of the female agents asked as they walked down the alley. "The girl, I understand. But the boy?"

"The boy, Agent Warren, is the grandson of Kadma Starlighter Vanders.", Barnes said. "And you know who she is, based off our intel."

"I see.", Warren said. "So, the ones in charge of all of this think he may have powers, too?"

"Well, look at the Asian we caught earlier.", Barnes said. "Her grnadmother was one of 'them'. So, why can't the boy of inherit some kind of ability or two from his grandmother? Besides. He's best friends of the red head. If anything, we can use him as some kind of leverage to make her do what we want."

"Speaking of the Asian girl.", Warren said. "Will she be okay? I heard she was shot by an officer."

"She'll live.", Barnes said. "Now let's see if we can catch the rest of out targets."

"Yes, sir.", Warren said as they headed for they car.

Back in the van, where Cassidy and Angelo were being taken somewhere, Cassidy's cell phone began to ring. One of the agents picked up the phone and saw Cornelia's name on the screen.

"Perfect.", the agent said as he let the phone rang. "Now they're getting worried."

"And with worry comes them doing something sloppy.", another agent said as the phone stopped ringing and then began to ring again.

As for Cornelia, she was trying to reach Cassidy to warn her as she along with Taranee and Will were walking down the sidewalk watching for anything out of the ordinary.

"She's not picking up.", Cornelia said as she put her cell phone away.

"That scares me.", Will said.

"But why would they want Cassidy?", Cornelia questioned. "She's no longer a Guardian."

"But with her knowledge, from her days as a Guardian, she's just as important as we are.", Taranee said. "Remember. She's been to worlds we haven't been to yet."

"Which is why we have to keep an eye on Yan Lin and Kadma.", Will said. "All of us are in danger!"

"Oh my gosh!", Cornelia said remembering something.

"What is it?", Will asked.

"I just remembered!", Cornelia said looking at Will. "Will. Angelo was with Cassidy, when I called to warn her!"

Hearing that scared Will as she and the girls continued walking. Her and the girls she could understand being hunted buy the FBI. But, Angelo? Then again, he is Kadma's grandson. Maybe he knows about the Guardians, but not who they are. Either way, she had this sinking feeling that if they got Cassidy, then they had Angelo, too.


	8. I am the Wind

Thanks again everyone for the reviews! If you look on my profile page, I drew a picture of the baby dragons. I don't think my descriptions were the best, and a picture's worth a thousand words!

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h., but I do own those wonderful dragons up there. :3

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_Hay Lin was still leaning against the wall, but now she was unresponsive as Cassidy shook her relentlessly._

"_Hay Lin, answer me! What's wrong!" she said in a panicked voice. As Angelo got up to see what was wrong, the door to the room opened and the white suited people rushed in. A few of them shoved Cassidy and Angelo away while the others swarmed around Hay Lin._

"_Her blood pressure's normal." One of them said as they removed the cuff from her arm. Hay Lin didn't even blink as the suited people lifter her up and carried her out of the room. Cassidy looked ready to burst into tears._

"_W-what's wrong with her?" she whimpered as Angelo put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her._

"Hay Lin and the Air dragon are locked in a battle for control over her body. The air dragon believes that if he can control her body, he can save her from what is to come from the humans." The Oracle said, waving his hand over the emerald screen so that it was blank. The water dragon yawned and stretched at Irma's feet.

"You know, we do have names." came the lazy female voice. Irma looked down at her protector in shock.

"You talk?" she asked, dumbfounded. The rest of the guardians looked to their dragon respectively

"Yes. My name is Naida." It said.

"I am Pyrrhos." said Taranee's dragon in a harsh male voice.

"I am Terra." Cornelia's protector had a gentle female voice for such a large dragon.

"And I am Essence. Feng is the dragon of Air." said Will's dragon. All the dragons bowed to the guardians in succession. Eric looked back to the screen and saw his girlfriend lying on a table, motionless. Her blank eyes stared up at the ceiling, and he felt his heart constrict in his chest.

"Can't we see what's going on in her mind?" he asked worriedly.

"I believe so." the Oracle replied. He waved his hand once more and the screen changed.

"_Stop it! Get out of my head!" Hay Lin screamed as she braced herself against the onslaught of winds that were pounding her. She was slowly being pushed back into what seemed to be a cave._

"_I am here to protect you! You are in grave danger." said a male voice. A large black dragon with feathers much like the one's on the guardians wings running down its back seemed to be forcing Hay Lin into the cave. It's body was long and snakelike, with a gray belly and horns that curled into the symbol for air._

"_Leave me alone! This is my body!" Hay Lin shouted angrily. She stepped forward towards the dragon , and he quickly wrapped himself around her once._

"_I am truly sorry. This is the only way." Feng touched his nose to the struggling Hay Lin's forehead._

All of a sudden, the screen went dark and it shattered with a blast of air force. Everyone had to shield their bodies from the flying magic. When the attack subsided, the small dragons all chattered worriedly.

"What just happened? Why can't we see them anymore?" Taranee questioned.

"I don't know. It seems it is now impossible to communicate with her. Maybe Cassidy can shed some light on the situation." The oracle said. He conjured up a new screen and they all watched the scene unfold from outside their friends mind.

_Someone outside the room Cassidy and Angelo were trapped in was screaming. It was less of a scream than it was an inhuman howling. Cassidy was pounding on the door with all her might, Angelo beside her. There was no visible damage done, however._

"_What are you doing to her! STOP!" Cassidy shouted. She kicked the door once before gripping her foot in pain._

"_Stand back!" Angelo said as he brandished a chair and smashed repeatedly at the door. He drew back on final time and the door bent open. A strong gust of wind blew in, momentarily distracting the two captives. He quickly threw the chair aside and pulled the door open the rest of the way. What they saw shocked everyone._

_Hay Lin had changed drastically. In the few moments that the Guardians and crew had "tuned out", it seemed she had become the dragon Feng. Although she was still humanoid in shape, her skin had changed into the black scales, and instead of wings her back was covered in the Guardians signature feathers. She had grown a tail with a feather fan on it, and curved horns grew from her head. Her hands had claws instead of fingers, and as she bared her teeth at the suited people you could tell they were now pointed. She roared in pain again and sent a blast of air at those who were trying to contain her._

"_What have you done to me!" she screamed, her voice half her own and half Feng's. Cassidy and Angelo tried to approach her, but were grabbed by armed men._

"_Stand back! Fire tranquilizers to try and calm her!" shouted the commander as he dragged Cassidy and Angelo away from the fight. The guardians could only watch the last few moments of the fight before Cassidy's view was obstructed._

The girls were all on the verge of tears, and Eric was staring intently at the ground, trying not to do the same. Matt and Nigel comforted their girlfriends with little success.

"How could we let her get taken! Now she's a monster!" Irma cried. The four dragons had huddled together, and seemed to have come to a decision.

"We have decided to accompany these girls on their mission to save the air guardian." Essence said. She flew up onto Wills shoulder and nuzzled her cheek affectionately. All the others did the same, excluding Naida who had no wings. She simply let Irma pick her up and hold her close.

"It's okay. We'll do everything we can to get them back safely." she said softly. Luba coughed and glared at the young dragons.

"You four are in no position to help the guardians. None of you are even halfway to full strength, you'd be killed before you got anywhere close to the air guardian." she argued.

Essence looked to the other dragons and nodded. They all dashed at Luba and swarmed the cat woman. They pinned her to the ground in a matter of seconds with some vines, and then proceeded to stand on her.

"We may be weak alone, but we are strongest together! You may be the keeper of the Auremeres, but we are the keepers of the Guardians. We will accompany them if we have to fight the Oracle to do so." Essence said, sparking with electricity. Lube growled, but nodded. The dragons removed themselves from her and flew back to their respective partners.

"Very well. I will allow you to go with the guardians. But I must warn you. If you are killed on Earth, that will mean your permanent end, as well as the disruption of peace in all the universe." the Oracle warned. The four dragons nodded.

"We understand." said Pyrrhos. The Oracle opened a fold for the group.

"This will lead you to the basement of the Silver Dragon. Yan Lin and Mira Lin are waiting for you there. I wish you luck in rescuing Hay Lin." he said and stood aside for all of them to walk through. Eric stayed back for a moment before turning to the Oracle.

"She is still there. And she is waiting for you." was all he said. Eric suddenly felt that he should show him some sign of respect, and bowed to the all knowing being before following the guardians through the portal.

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Woo. Hope you enjoyed! It was a lot of fun writing this chapter. I love dragons. 3


	9. Mind games

Welcome to chapter 8. It's so symmetrical~ The number eight. Not my chapter. ._.

Thanks again for all the reviews! Especially Philip Gipson, who reviewed all my chapters written so far.

And sorry for the very late update. This chapter was difficult to write!

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Yan and Mira Lin were moving some cardboard boxes in the basement when the portal opened in front of them. While they were both surprised, they did their best not to seem to shocked. After all, they had been a part of the strange world of the Guardians for a long time.

"Girls! How did the mission go?" Mira Lin asked hopefully. Irma burst into tears and ran up the stairs. Will quickly returned the four to normal and ran up after her, with Taranee and Cornelia close behind. Four small dragons ran after them.

"Oh. Well, we can't give up hope yet." Yan Lin said. She didn't sound very hopeful though. Matt, Nigel and then Eric walked out of the portal. It closed as soon as the depressed teen stepped out.

"Where did the girls go?" Nigel asked. Yan Lin pointed up the steps, and both he and Matt left to find their girlfriends. Eric stayed behind with the two identical grandmothers.

"Do you need any help with those?" he asked, gesturing towards the boxes that were now scattered around the room. Mira Lin smiled and handed him the one she was holding.

"Sure. You can put that back over with the others, we didn't see what we wanted." She said, shoving the boy towards the far corner. He quickly obliged and put the box on top of the others.

"You know, you don't need to be worried. Hay Lin is perfectly capable of handling herself." Mira Lin told him as she handed him another box.

"It's not Hay Lin I'm worried about. It's the thing that's controlling her." he grumbled. Mira Lin raised an eyebrow.

"What's controlling Hay Lin?" Yan Lin walked up next to her "sister" and looked quizzically at Eric.

"The air dragon. He merged bodies with her to protect her supposedly." Eric explained. He looked back and forth between the identical women and shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I think I'm going to go home." he said. He exited the basement and saw Irma sitting at one of the booths slumped back and staring at the ceiling with a tear streaked face. He cautiously approached her.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" he asked. Irma looked at him and nodded, quickly wiping her face. Naida jumped up onto the table from her left side and lay down in front of her, allowing Eric to sit next to her. Neither one said anything for a few moments.

"Well, this sucks." Irma said with a halfhearted laugh. "My best friend's somewhere over the rainbow trapped in her own body. And who knows what those government agents are doing to her... Poking her with needles, taking her blood... And I'm not there to protect her. She's not here to keep us all from falling apart." Irma said gesturing to herself. Eric nodded.

"Yeah. It's pretty hopeless right now. But you know what? You can't just think about the bad things. Hay Lin isn't dead. She may be trapped, but she's still fighting. And we will save her." Eric's words grew angrier as he continued, and after he was finished he slammed his hand down on the table.

"It's no use." Irma said, staring at her lap. "I can't get this horrible feeling of dread out of my stomach. My father shot Hay Lin, helped her get captured, help her become that-that _thing. _It might as well be all my fault."

"Blaming yourself isn't going to get Hay Lin back! We have to be strong, and focus on finding her. You can't change that your father shot your best friend, but you can save her from more suffering! She needs us!" Eric pleaded. Irma was his only hope of ever seeing Hay Lin again, that much he knew. Naida suddenly sat up and gave Irma a small smack on the forehead.

"He's right ya know. Feng's like a brother to me- we gotta stop him before he does somethin even more stupid." Irma sniffled and picked up Naida in a tight embrace. Eric just looked confusedly at the small dragon. Could Irma understand it?

"Thanks." she mumbled. Eric watched them go, Naida changing appearance into a small brown dog as Irma walked out the door. Eric sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Could things get any weirder?" he asked no one in particular. He left the room, closing the door to the empty restaurant with a soft click.

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Hay Lin wasn't entirely sure where her body was at the moment, just as she wasn't sure exactly what was going on. What she did know was that after being forcibly removed and shoved into this... weird cave thing in her brain, she had grown a tail, scales, horns, claws, feathers, even teeth. She absentmindedly ran her finger over one of her teeth and looked through the bars of her prison. The inside of her brain appeared to be a flat desert with many colored sands making up the ground.

"Helloooooo! Mr. Feng, I'm sorry for yelling at you before! I don't like being here all alone..." she trailed off when no answer came. She imagined a tumbleweed blowing by her small cell and sure enough, one blew by moments later, kicking up a menagerie of sands along with it.

"This is the inside of my brain? It's so weird." she said to herself. Her thoughts began to wander, and she saw blurry images of the same thoughts pass by her mind's prison. The Guardians fighting Cedric, she and Eric getting an ice cream in the park... A sudden gust of wind blew the images away, and Hay Lin saw Feng had landed in front of her prison. He looked annoyed to say the least, and Hay Lin walked closer to the bars to see what he wanted.

"The humans want to speak with you, and I regrettably don't know how to speak English." Feng said grumpily.

"But you're speaking English right now!" Hay Lin exclaimed. Feng shook his head with a small laugh.

"Actually, I am not. We are connected through the powers of the air, and therefore can understand each other. It just seems like I am speaking English to you. Which is why I need your help. I can't understand a word these people are saying!" he touched the bars of her prison and Hay Lin cautiously approached Feng.

"Um, so how do I take control? Do I just-" Hay Lin was cut off as her vision swirled violently before settling into a completely white room. She looked around in confusion before spotting the glass pane separating herself from multiple agents. She was strapped to a chair of sorts by metal armbands, and she noted that she was sitting quite uncomfortably on her tail.

"If you don't answer our question we will be forced to take more violent measures to get our answers." came a male voice. Hay Lin grimaced and panicked.

"_Feng! What was his question?" _She thought frantically. She received no verbal answer, but she felt the dragon shrugging inside her mind. She looked back to the glass pane and opened her mouth to speak, when she felt a powerful electric current shoot through her body.

"Aagh!" Hay Lin screamed. Her voice sounded crackly, but more importantly not like her own. Feng was shielding her from some of the pain! After a few moments, the current was stopped and Hay Lin was left gasping in the chair, twitching involuntarily every so often.

"I will ask you again. Do you know anyone else with powers?" came the man's voice. Hay Lin coughed once before glaring at the glass screen. She felt the electricity race through her again, and she arched her back in pain. She would not give her captors the satisfaction of hearing her painful cries again.

"_Hay Lin! It's Taranee! Where are you?" _Hay Lin heard in her head. She gritted her teeth until the electricity stopped and then answered back.

"_Some sort of government facility... They know that I know other people with powers... They're torturing me for information."_ she said, fighting through the black that was crawling at the ends of her vision. She heard the man speaking again, but she ignored him.

"_Fire Guardian, leave now!" _roared Feng. Hay Lin felt the world spinning again in vivid colors, and vaguely heard someone calling her name before feeling the electricity coarse through her body once more.

There were tears running from her eyes as she lay on the floor of her prison once again.

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Taranee woke from her trance with a start. She was a bit confused as to why she was staring at the night sky, until she saw Nigel's concerned face standing over her. Phyrros sat next to her also.

"You alright?" he asked as he helped her up. She nodded grimly.

"I just spoke with Hay Lin. They know." she whispered. They walked in silence until the rest of the way, each stuck in their own thoughts. Phyrros had taken the form of a small dog and was trotting next to his master.

"_It's really strange that Taranee has powers. Heck, it's even stranger that I'm okay with it!" _Nigel thought. He looked to the girl beside him, face tight in concentration, and smiled.

"_Yeah, she's definitely worth it." _He thought.

"_Nigel?" _Nigel looked down at Taranee again. He was pretty sure she hadn't spoken out loud. Had the couple spoken in their mind?

"_Uh, Taranee?" _He thought back.

"_Yes. When did you become telepathic?" _she demanded. Nigel held his hands up in defense.

"_Like, five seconds ago. I have no idea what's going on." _He said back. They had arrived at Taranee's house, but had stopped outside to argue in their heads.

"_Okay, fine. But, now that you can do this you have to be careful. You can't just talk to random people on the street in their minds, okay?"_ she said. Nigel nodded and hugged her.

"See you tomorrow?" he shouted after her. She turned back and smiled at him with a wave. The dragon/dog at her side yipped at him too, before the two disappeared into the house.

"_Definitely."_ came her voice in his mind. Nigel whistled and walked towards his house with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

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Cassidy sat in her room and stared at the wall. She knew that the longer she and her friends were here, the longer they were in danger. Whatever the government knew about the guardians, it was too much. And at the very least, they were going to act on their knowledge soon.

"I don't know if you're listening Oracle, but you better keep the guardians safe. I don't want a repeat of what happened to me." she whispered, tears glistening in her eyes. She lay down on her room's cot and gratefully let sleep overwhelm her.

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Edit: Oops. Realized Phyrros needs to be with Taranee!


	10. Listen for the wind

Hey peeps. Time for another installment of Against the Wind! :3

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Cornelia gasped and sat up quickly in her bed. After a few moments of breathing normally again, she looked to her alarm clock with a groan. It was five in the morning, way too early for a Sunday morning. She glanced at the dog sized dragon next to her and sighed. At least she hadn't woken-

"Are you alright young Guardian?" came the soothing voice of her new companion. Although Cornelia was a bit surprised, she nodded in response to the question. Terra was gentle and loving- just as she expected Mother Earth to be.

"Sort of. Everything's so hectic right now... and we all miss Hay Lin." the blond admitted. She was worried about their team's youngest member just as much as the others, but she couldn't help but feel dread towards meeting the usually cheerful girl again.

"That is alright. I too, miss Feng. I wish he had waited instead of acting rashly. But, much like the wind itself, there is little one can do to change his course. A strong wind cannot be stopped by a single tree." Terra said. She lay her head down on Cornelia's lap and looked up at her with a smile.

"I will do everything in my power to bring them back." she promised. Cornelia smiled and patted the head of her dragon.

"Thank you." she whispered back. Terra closed her eyes before continuing.

"So do you have a boyfriend?" she asked. Cornelia coughed once before holding her head up high.

"Yes I do. His name is Caleb, and he's a warrior from Meridian." she said proudly. Terra let out a small laugh.

"Very well. He'll do nicely." Terra said. Cornelia gave her an odd look before sighing.

"I can't be with you all the time, so I choose someone to watch after you. They'll get your secondary powers and somewhat of an affinity over earth until I should decide to remove his powers." Terra explained. In a low voice, she whispered to herself, "And I won't be able to stay much longer after we save Feng anyway..."

"What was that?" Cornelia questioned.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep dear." Terra said, nosing her Guardian down into her bed once more. They both closed their eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

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The next day, a Sunday, the Guardians and dragons, along with Matt, Eric and Nigel met up again in the forest.

"So, guys... been experiencing any weird powers lately?" Will asked as nonchalantly as she could. Matt rubbed his temples before glaring at Will and Essence, who was currently draped around her guardians neck like a scarf.

"Are you kidding me? The stupid electrical appliances won't shut up! They've been at it all night... I barely got any sleep between the fridge and the microwave. Something must have gone on between them... What am I saying? Augh!" Matt yelled. Will quickly tried her best to calm him down. As they walked off to the side, Nigel beamed at Phyrros and Taranee.

"You guys are awesome! Now I can help you guys out on missions, and communicate with the guys- no more cellphones!" he joked, punching Taranee's arm.

"I can take your powers away just as quickly as I gave them to you, boy! Don't hurt my Guardian." the fire dragon snarled, smoke rising from his nostrils.

"I was just joking!" Nigel said defensively. As the group of fire powered beings fought, Irma and Cornelia looked at each other with a sigh. Naida was looking at Eric thoughtfully.

"So, are you Irma's boyfriend?" the lazy water beast asked. Irma quickly picked her dragon up and covered her mouth. Eric looked at the blue dragon with an incredulous look on his face.

"Lets just say this guy here's taken by windy, 'kay?" she whispered. Naida nodded and Irma put Naida back down. Eric sighed and regained his composure before looking back at the water dragon.

"Yeah, sorry. Although it would be nice to have powers, I'm just going to wait... for the right time." he said. He hoped that it would be soon.

"So can we get going to Meridian already? If we're going to pull off a rescue we're gonna need all the firepower we can get." Cornelia said. Irma smirked.

"Oh, I just thought you wanted to go to see your boyfriend Corny!" The water guardian teased.

"Don't call me Corny!" the angered earth guardian yelled. Will sighed and opened a fold before the two could really get into their fight. She grabbed Irma and shoved her wordlessly into the portal before glaring at the others. They followed soon after the water guardian while avoiding Will's death glare. Matt was the last to walk through, and the couple laughed at how serious they had been before walking through after their friends.

The group arrived in a field near the castle, and soon set off to find Elyon. It wasn't that difficult, seeing as she had probably sensed the fold open as soon as it had been done, and soon she along with Caleb and a few others had teletransported in front of them.

"Hey guys! What brings you all here?" Elyon asked. She saw the dragons and raised her eyebrow, but allowed them to explain before asking questions.

"We're in a bit of a bind here... Hay Lin's been captured by the government." Will started.

"You left out the part that she's being possessed by a dragon and tortured for information." Eric growled. Elyon and her guards looked shocked at the news, having seen the cheerful air guardian on more than one occasion.

"How long has she been... you know." Elyon asked.

"A few days. She slips in and out of control every once in a while, but whenever we contact her Feng shuts us out." Will paused for a moment before seeing the confused looks on the Meridian people's faces. "Feng is the dragon."

"Well, if this Feng is evil, why don't you just take him out?" one of the guards asked. Essence jumped off of Will's shoulder and stood angrily in front of the offending guard.

"Feng is not merely a dragon- he is the Air Auremere in physical form! Do you like breathing?" she hissed. Eric, Elyon and the guards all looked confusedly at the pink dragon. All they heard was her growling and hissing. Essence finally lost her temper and roared loudly.

"Insolent beings! There are five Aurameres! If even one is destroyed, the entire universe will be destroyed! Can none of you understand?" as the dragon ranted, she grew bigger and began to spark with Quintessence. Will and Matt approached their angry dragon while the remaining three shrank back in fear. Nigel and Taranee heard the dragons speaking in their minds through Phyrros.

"_Essence, this is not the time to start attacking innocents, even if they are somewhat stupid." _Terra said. There were murmurs of agreement from Naida and Phyrros.

"_They deserve it! They have no respect for those with more authority than them!" _Essence argued.

"_The time of dragons has come and gone friend. All creatures no longer speak the same language. We have become nothing more than a bedtime story, legends and myths passed down and forgotten, remembered by few. Our names have been lost to the wind, all except your own, Shin Jin." _came a new, but familiar voice. Taranee gasped aloud and everyone turned to look at the telepathic teen.

"Taranee? What-" Irma began, but cut off as Taranee held up her hand. She closed her eyes and focused on the new voice.

"_You have grown harsh with age Feng. Perhaps you are still asleep after all this time. Our job is being carried on by the Guardians now. And even though they do it in secret, it still makes a difference." _Terra said.

"_Whatever the rest of you may think, I got into contact with you for a different reason. To put it in the words of... one of the humans here, we are in deep shit."_ Feng admitted reluctantly.

"_Um, sorry to butt in, but where is Hay Lin?"_ Taranee asked in. Feng snorted.

"_Hay Lin is fine. I allowed her to take control again so she could speak with the humans, but only as long as she would not contact you. The humans are scared- they need us to fight an invading army. Phobos is back- and he's going to try and take over Earth this time. Hay Lin has managed to convince the humans that you will be able to stop him, but... they are going to do something to us. Something that scared Hay Lin a lot."_ Feng relayed.

"_Feng, we need to know where you guys are. We can get you out of there- then we can save Hay Lin. Okay?"_ Taranee said as calmly as she could.

"_I don't know where. Hay Lin does... I guess I will allow you to speak with her for a moment." _Feng grumbled and broke the telepathic link for a moment. Then, for the first time in what seemed like years,Taranee heard the fifth and final member of the guardians.

"_Taranee! Oh, I'm so sorry I got into this mess... Can you guys forgive me?" _the air guardian said in a rush.

"_Of course! But you need to tell us where you are so we can do it in person!" _Taranee said. She let the other girls into the conversation and Nigel, getting the idea, let Eric, Matt and Caleb in also.

"_We're in a facility called Witch Mountain- ironic, huh? It's mostly underground from what I can tell. But you guys need to hurry- they're sending FBI agents after you today! They've been monitoring you- and frankly you could all be a little more sneaky about having powers!" _Hay Lin scolded.

"_Hay Lin!" _exclaimed multiple voices at the same time. Naida sighed over the link.

"_So much for a private conversation!" _the water dragon mumbled.

"_Guys! You're all okay!" _Hay Lin squealed happily.

"_We're fine Hay-Hay! It's you that's got us all worried sick! You are never allowed to go to school early again!" _Irma joked. Hay Lin laughed before trying to become serious again.

"_The FBI aren't all that bad- they're just worried for the country. Phobos is building an army here- I don't know how or why, but he's going to go after our families to try and use them as bait! He's already made demands to the government, but they haven't answered him yet. I think... I think they're going to hand Cassidy, Angelo and I over to him." _Hay Lin said nervously.

"_We won't let that happen." _Eric said.

"_Eric? You're with the girls? Oh my gosh! I'm soooo sorry that I ran off after our date, but I was-"_

"_Don't worry about it. I know about everything. Or, mostly everything." _he said.

"_Don't forget about me!" _Nigel put in. Hay Lin's voice became fuzzy for a moment, and no one could understand what she was saying.

"_Hay-Hay? What's going on?"_ Irma asked worriedly.

"_We have to go now, Phobos has come to collect!" said Hay Lin and Feng together. "We're sorry to go, but we leave with a gift and some advice! Assemble the Guards and tell your families what is going to happen- take them somewhere safe!" _With that, the two air wielders severed the connection and the group was brought back to reality.

"Are you guys alright? You all went out of it for a while." Elyon asked. The group slowly got up and faced the Meridian queen. All except one person, that is.

"Oh god. Eric's out for the count guys!" Nigel said as he helped Matt lift the unconscious boy up.

"Feng and Hay Lin are still speaking with him. Give him a few moments." Essence said. She still looked annoyed, but had seemed to regained control over her anger.

"The dragon talks?" said Caleb, who seemed alarmed. Cornelia laughed and pulled him aside to explain.

"Well, sorry about all that Elyon. We were contacted by Hay Lin, and she gave us a couple of ideas on what we should do. We'll need to borrow Caleb for a while though." Will said to the confused ruler. She gave a weak smile and rolled her eyes.

"It's alright. I'm used to these strange things by now." she said. Will bit her lip before whispering to Elyon.

"Is Phobos still in his prison?"

"Why wouldn't he be? No one has escaped the prison as far as I know..." Elyon paused, and disappeared a moment later. Will looked back to the guards an they just shrugged. Eric groaned and rubbed his head.

"Woah. Hey guys. You can put me down now." Eric said. He stood up on his own and looked at the other guys with a grin.

"Well, seems I'm part of the club now. So, when are we going to go save my girlfriend?" he asked with a grin. Before anyone could say anything, Elyon appeared again.

"Phobos has escaped, he left an astral drop in his place!" she exclaimed. Her guards immediately surrounded her and glared at the guardians.

"We know. He's on earth, probably trying to get Hay Lin, Cassidy and Angelo. Sorry to run out like this, but bye!" Will said as she opened a fold. It opened back into the park, where everyone was met by quite a surprise.

"Martin?"

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Help me gain levels by reviewing. Muuuuuuurr. Next chapter will appear sometime next week probably! Until then, REVIEW MY SUBJECTS- I mean, readers!


	11. Arrival of Heroes

Here's chapter 11! Big thanks to all who reviewed! The ever present Lexvan, and a couple of new reviewers! Thanks BookieNovels and Heart of the Demons!

Also, keep an eye out for my next W.i.t.c.h. fanfic, coming soon!

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"Phobos! Why don't you strut your pretty little face in here so I can mess it up for you!" Cassidy shouted. She glared out the glass of the prison he and Angelo shared at the Meridian prince, while Angelo watched on confusedly. The prince watched her with an amused look as he spoke with the FBI agents.

"I trust you have come to terms with the agreement? Surely one little girl is worth less than the safety of all the people of the world?" he said, earning another fit from Cassidy. She was pounding on the glass while Angelo stood next to the former water guardian and tried to keep her calm.

"We don''t usually deal with terrorists, but if you leave peacefully with the girl we will not follow you." said one of the agents. Phobos laughed.

"Humans are so predictable. I'm not a terrorist." Phobos smiled as he blasted the man with a beam of green energy.

"I'm your worst nightmare. I think I'll collect my prizes now." he said, approaching Cassidy and Angelo's cell. Some of the guards held their gun towards the princes, but he just waved his hand and the guns flew to the other side of the room. He waved his hand again and the door to the cell opened.

"Hello, guardian. Or should I say, former guardian Cassidy. I thought you had died at the hands of Nerissa? Or am I just mistaken?" he asked with a sadistic smile. Angelo stood protectively in front of Cassidy.

"I don't know who you are or what you're talking about, but if you lay one hand on her I might just have to hurt you." he threatened. Phobos smirked and walked out of the cell, motioning for the two to follow him.

"You do want to see the air guardian, am I right? Forcing you to follow me around would be too boring." Phobos said. Cassidy and Angelo exchanged looks before following the deranged prince farther down the hallway. The guards didn't seem pleased that their prisoners were now wandering freely around the compound, but didn't make any effort to contain them. Phobos suddenly stopped in front of a glass window and grinned.

"This is what is left of the Air Guardian? I would have expected her to have put up a little more resistance." he taunted. The other side of the glass remained dark, until suddenly a pair of jaws snapped repeatedly at the people on the opposite side. An angry black dragon face was revealed, its black eyes cold and hard glaring at the evil Prince.

"Hello Feng. I hope that the air guardian's body was a suitable host then?" Phobos suggested.

"She is not my host. I am here to protect her from evils such as yourself, Prince of Nothing." Feng sneered, his voice muffled by the glass separating the two.

"And look what you've been reduced to!" Phobos said, gesturing to the beast in the dark enclosure. He snapped his fingers and the room's light turned on, revealing the full body of the dragon. Around his neck was a metal collar attached to the floor, and there were more attached to his tail and midsection, with smaller ones on his feet. His mane of feathers was scorched in some places and his body was covered in cuts and bruises.

"It's true." the dragon rasped. "I can barely find the energy to stand. Hay Lin keeps asking to take some of the pain, and I'm getting closer and closer to giving in... something that I will never do to you!" he spat. Phobos laughed and used his magic to free Feng of all his bonds save the band around his neck. Phobos broke the glass with an energy blast and floated in next to Feng. He grabbed the chain attached to the dragons collar and pulled him along. Feng tried to resist, but this was his only chance for escape, and he was going to take it!

"_If we're going to escape, then let me help! You're too tired to be of much use! I can get Cassidy, Angelo and us out of here while you take a nap!" _Hay Lin suggested. Feng finally gave in and allowed Hay Lin to take over her body once more.

"Oh shit I'm a dragon!" she said. Her body made a few adjustments to it's new master, her signature dark ponytails growing out from behind her horns and her body slimming out into a more graceful snakelike body. However, she did not return to a human. Phobos looked at her quizzically before she returned to her sulking act. Cassidy and Angelo were staring at her, and she gave them a wink. Cassidy nearly jumped for joy but managed to contain herself as Phobos led the ragtag group outside. The doors to the secret government facility closed with a large bang.

"Alright then. Get on him boy. Only you, Cassidy stays." Angelo was about to protest before Cassidy stopped him. He climbed onto the dragon's back and gripped her feathers.

"If you're gonna try something, do it quick Hay Lin!" he whispered. She lunged at Phobos and bit his shoulder.

"Argh! Release me at once!" he yelled, shooting an energy beam at her. She took the blow to her shoulder, but still refused to let go of the prince. In the confusion Cassidy yanked the chain from Phobos' grasp and jumped onto Hay Lin's back.

"Go!" she shouted. Hay Lin wasted no time in flinging the prince backwards and taking off for Heatherfield. Phobos soon recovered and flew after them, firing powerful beams of energy after his escaped captives. Hay Lin gracefully flew through the air, her body moving up and down like a wave as she sped from the evil prince.

"We have to get to Heatherfield! The FBI is going to go after the other guardians today, and I will not let the same thing happen to them!" Hay Lin said determinedly to Cassidy.

"The heck is she talking about?" Angelo asked. Cassidy sighed.

"Alright, I'll explain. But I never imagined I'd be telling this to you on the back of a dragon!" Cassidy said. As Phobos fell farther and farther behind, his powers not being as strong on Earth as they were on Meridian, Cassidy wove the tale of the Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions for Angelo.

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"Martin Tubbs, what in the name of all that is good are you doing here?" Irma yelled. Martin attempted not to look intimidated as the Water Guardian berated him.

"I followed you all here this morning. I've known about the whole 'winged fairies' thing for a while. But I didn't think you all had dragons too!" he said, incredulously. He approached Naida and lifted her up, studying her.

"Boy, if you do not unhand me I will bite your nose off." she said angrily. Martin gently put Naida back next to Irma.

"When and how did you find out about us exactly?" Cornelia asked.

"The Halloween party last year. I realized later that night that there was no way any of that could have happened without you all being different, so I slipped a recording device into Irma's backpack soon after. I kinda heard her rant about being a guardian to herself." Martin admitted sheepishly. Irma glared at Martin, but hugged him, surprising everyone.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry-" Irma repeated those two words over and over again while Martin awkwardly tried to hug the distressed water guardian.

"I think you broke Irma Martin." Cornelia said. Naida rolled her eyes and spoke to him.

"Ask her to be your girlfriend already and you can get some cool powers too." she said with a wink. Martin nodded sheepishly and led Irma off somewhere a little more private. Will then turned to the others.

"Alright, we need to talk. What exactly did Hay Lin and Feng mean by "assemble the Guards"?" Will asked the dragons.

"The Guard was a group of warriors during or time that were technically our riders. They fought with us and protected us- but they were all killed in battle. Now that we are back, a new guard is needed- and as soon as young Martin has finished, the Guard shall be complete." Terra explained.

"I will be right back." Essence said as she opened a fold and disappeared through it. Moment later, she came back clutching a small gem in her mouth.

"This is for the leader of the Guard. It is called the Hero's Gem, and will allow the five of you to fight alongside the Guardians." Essence said. "You will have to decide amongst yourselves who shall lead, so I will keep it until Martin returns."

"Have no fear! For I have returned victorious!" Martin said jokingly as he and Irma walked towards them hand in hand.

"Not one word Corny." Irma said.

"Very well. Who shall be your leader?" Essence asked, letting the Gem float in the air. The five boys stood around it in a circle, and the Gem pulsed with a warm pink glow before settling in front of Nigel.

"Nigel shall be the leader of the Guard." Phyrros announced, obviously pleased. Nigel reached out and took the Gem.

"Um, so how does this work exactly?" Nigel asked, turning the Gem over in his hands.

"Say 'Guards together' to change." Essence explained. Nigel looked skeptically at the floating gem before repeating the words.

"Guards together!" he shouted. Five beams of energy shot out and enveloped the new Guards, and their forms grew larger. When the transformation was finished, the Guards looked back to the guardians proudly.

Nigel wore a red shirt and black pants with an orange breastplate and matching orange helmet. On the breastplate was the symbol for fire, and the helmet had horns similar to those of Phyrros on it. But the strangest thing was the pair of red wings that mimicked that of Phyrros, and the tail of course.

"My arms!" Nigel exclaimed, flailing his wings/arms around. Phyrros laughed at the floundering fire Guard.

"You'll get used to it." he said. The rest of the Guard approached their counterpart guardian, except for Eric who stood watching the sky.

Martin wore a light blue shirt and black pants with a darker blue breastplate and helmet. On his breastplate was the symbol for water. Like Nigel, his helmet had the horns of his corresponding dragon, but his wings were pure ice that came from his back. He lacked a tail, however.

Matt wore a pink shirt and a black breastplate, but his helmet covered his face in a mask much like Shagon's. His helmet had Essence's horns, but his dark black wings and Shagon tail showed that he wasn't just a member of the Guard. His breastplate had the symbol for the Heart on it.

Caleb had on a green top with brown pants, and a helmet with curled horns. His wings were the largest of all the Guard, being almost as big as his own body, and his tail had the symbol of the earth on the end. His breastplate was a dark green with the Earth symbol on it.

Finally, Eric was wearing all black with a gray breastplate, which had the symbol for air on it. He didn't have a helmet, but he had horns like Feng's and the same mane of feathers running down his back. His tail was the longest of the five with a fan of the same feathers near the tip. His hands and feet were clawed, and when he went to speak he found his teeth had become pointed as well.

"This is so awesome!" Martin said, his voice deeper than before. Cornelia nudged Irma so that she would come out of her stupor. The Water Guardian quickly snapped out of her trance and looked away from Martin.

"While that's great and all, they're still really new at this. If we get attacked-" Will was cut off by the sound of a shriek, and then Hay Lin shot over the group in the air, leaving behind a trail of red droplets. She was followed by Phobos, who was shooting green beams of energy after her.

"Hay Lin!" Eric shouted, taking off into the air. He turned invisible and joined the chase. The others were soon to follow, the dragons leading the way.

"Halt you fiend!" shouted Phyrros as he landed on Phobos from behind. The other dragons soon joined the attack on the prince and they were brought down into a tree, disappearing from view. Hay Lin slowed down and looked back to see her friends following her. She smiled and flew back to join them. They all crashed into each other in a giant hug.

"Hay Hay! We missed you soooo much!" Irma said, tears streaming down her face. Hay Lin just smiled at her friends and floated down to the ground. As soon as they landed, Hay Lin collapsed. Her riders jumped off and quickly relayed what had happened.

"We've been flying for a good two hours, she's exhausted." Cassidy explained. Angelo just stared at the Guards and the Guardians while they gathered around the fallen dragon.

"The heck. Why don't I get cool powers?" he asked. A sudden green wave came from the treetops, and Phobos floated down, hands brimming with power.

"Nice try Guardians, but your new friends cannot harm me. I am unstoppable!" he laughed as he approached the group, who were standing protectively around their fallen friend.

"We've stopped you once, we'll do it again!" Will shouted.

"Guardians/Guards, attack!" Nigel and Will shouted as they rushed forward.

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Woo. :3 Chapter, um ten now? I think there will be a few more before I end it. I may do a sequel, but I really want to work on this other story now too! So, vote in my poll!


	12. Author Note: Haitus

Hey, so I'm back! Sorry for such a long delay, but my only noteworthy story is really Against the Wind and I'm having a lot of trouble ending it. So, until further notice Against the Wind is on a (permanent?) hiatus. I've also decided to drop It was in Longridge because I can't remember where I was going with it.

The good news is I have an idea for a different story- a W.i.t.c.h. and Okami Crossover! So, expect the first chapter soon. ;)

~Snowsparx


	13. The End, For Now

Welcome to the final chapter! Thanks to all of you who stuck with me. I think I did a pretty good job for a first story. *shrug* I plan to get better, so you should all read my next story too!

Major props to Lexvan who wrote everything in Italics, and for letting me borrow his OC Angelo.

I also apologize for the long wait and haitus. I had no idea how I was going to end this, so it took longer than expected! And with this, on to the end my friends!

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Phobos laughed maniacally as he dodged the onslaught of attacks that the group was throwing at him. The Guard, though inexperienced, soon started copying their matching guardian. All save Eric of course. He quickly floated down during a small break and lifted up Hay Lin's dragon head.

"Come on Hay Lin! We have to help the others, Phobos is beating us badly!" he urged. He received no response. He heard a yelp as Martin was blasted back into Cornelia, wiping the two out as they crashed against a tree. Nigel was having difficulty fighting without his arms, and was forced to retreat as Phobos shot a green beam of energy at him.

"Your powers are weakened without all of you unified! The air dragon still mistrusts the rest of you." Phobos laughed. Eric looked down at the dragon in his claws, and then absentmindedly licked his fangs. Phobos was right- He and Hay Lin were separate from the others. They weren't even human!

"Cassidy, Angelo!" he hissed. "I need you to help me get Hay Lin to cover!" Cassidy ran over right away, but Angelo hesitated a bit as he watched Will take a blow to the gut. She landed not far from the group and groaned before joining the fight again. There was a sharp cry as the other dragons flew from the trees and leaped at the evil prince.

"Angelo! Hurry up, we've got to get Hay Lin away!" Cassidy urged. He came out of his stupor and joined the two in dragging the full sized dragon to the side. When they had finished the task, Eric waved the two humans off.

"Go! I appreciate your help, but right now the important thing for you is to stay out of Phobos' sight! He seemed to have plans for you, so it's best if you got out!" Eric and sat on the ground next to Hay Lin and put his hand on her neck gently. He closed his eyes and focused. He had to speak with Feng!

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_As the fight between Phobos and the Guardians/Guards raged on, Cassidy quickly grabbed Angelo's arm and pulled him to a safe spot to keep them both safe._

_"Okay.", Angelo said. "That was... Wow!"_

_"Yeah. It's something to see.", Cassidy said. "But the guys having powers is new."_

_"Well, I'm just glad we got out of that place.", Angelo said as he sat on a tree stump with Cassidy. "So how bad is this Phobos guy?"_

_"Very bad.", Cassidy said. "But the girls have beaten him before. And now that they have their boyfriends and dragons with them, they'll take him down even faster.", she said as they went back to watching the fight._

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Eric opened his eyes again and found himself in a desert- the same one where he had viewed Hay Lin and Feng before! Dark clouds rumbled overhead, but it was still bright.

"Feng! Hay Lin!" he called. He did a quick spin around to see if he could find someone, but there was nothing in the dusty wasteland. He sighed and began to walk forward, hoping eventually to find Hay Lin and the dragon.

He saw a small lump rising in the distance, and quickly took to the air to get there faster. The clouds rumbled overhead, and he flew faster. The wind picked up, blowing sand harshly into his face. As the lump came into view, he realized it was the same one that the Oracle had shown them.

"Hay Lin!" He shouted. He heard a roar from above and swerved out of the way as Feng smashed into the ground where he was a moment ago. He was almost to the cave when he felt himself flying backwards. He glanced back and saw that Feng was sucking the air towards him, mouth wide open.

"I'm coming Hay Lin!" Eric shouted, willing himself to go faster. However, even though he could control the wind, he was no master like Feng. He watched as Hay Lin's prison seemed to move farther away from him.

"No, go back, go back!" she shouted, Waving her arms frantically at Feng. Eric looked confusedly back to him, before it clicked in his mind what she meant. He let himself be sucked back towards Feng and at the last moment, twirled in midair, kicking the dragon in the face! Before he could get back up, Eric dashed over to Hay Lin.

"Eric! I'm so glad you're alright. I couldn't tell you exactly what I wanted, because Feng can read my thoughts. Sorry!" she said. Eric examined the bars of her cage and experimentally kicked one. The bar didn't budge.

"Foolish boy. You cannot free her without my consent!" Feng growled as he approached. Hay Lin gripped Eric's hand tightly a he turned to face the dragon.

"Well, then, I want your consent. You can't keep Hay Lin like this! This is her body, she has a right to her freedom!" he said. Feng snorted.

"I am protecting her. I have seen what will happen! The Oracle and the Guardians cannot stop it. It is a dark force older than the dragons themselves." Feng said. He approached Eric until they were face to face.

"These features that separate you from the other guardians- they are my gift to you. You will be faster, more vicious- and more protected. Everything the Guardians cannot be. You, young Guard, must not let her die. The dragons cannot handle the death of another guardian so soon. Even if it was not my Guardian who died, we all felt it. And even before Cassidy, there were others. Countless others who were sacrificed to 'keep the peace'. There will never be peace, no matter how many Guardians die!" Feng hissed.

"No! The Guardians-" Eric began.

"The Guardians are a bunch of young girls running around in fairy outfits, boy! They may have special powers, but when it comes down to it they are still children."

"Children that have beaten evil before!" Hay Lin shouted. She gripped Eric's clawed hand with her own before continuing.

"We've defeated Phobos, Nerissa, Cedric, heck, even each other! We can defeat this evil- without your stupid 'gifts'!" she said. Eric gripped her hand tighter as Feng backed away from them for a moment. The bars on Hay Lin's cage disappeared and she quickly embraced Eric.

"I... I'm sorry. I was wrong about some things. I will release my hold on you- but you have to keep my gifts." At this, Hay Lin and Eric nodded. Feng continued.

"The Oracle has shown us- the dragons- the evil that is to come. The evil is like nothing you have ever faced. And to stop it, some of you will die." Feng looked directly at Hay Lin, causing Eric to shield her from him slightly.

"I cannot give to much else away. But I hope that my gifts will help save your lives." the dragon said. He took in a deep breath and blew a giant gust of wind at the two humans. Before Eric felt himself slipping out of Hay Lin's mind, he saw the desert blown away with him, leaving behind a trail of beautiful colors.

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Eric opened his eyes to a new scene for what felt like the millionth time, only to find that a human Hay Lin was sitting in his lap! He quickly looked around and saw that the others were standing in front of them, forming a protective barrier.

"Nigel! What's going on?" he asked. His leader looked back and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're up! Not much time to explain. Phobos started beating you two up pretty badly while you were out. We've been standing our ground here trying our best to protect you." Nigel explained. He winced as the shield they had put up was hit with a blast of energy.

"Ugh... my head hurts." Hay Lin complained. She blinked a few times before realizing where she was and jumping up. She squealed happily and spun in a circle, admiring her human self.

"I'm me again!" she said, grinning. She looked around and saw the others looking at her strangely and stuck her tongue out at them.

"You haven't been stuck in the body of a dragon for a good portion of the week!" she accused, huffing at them. The Guardians and the Guard dropped the shield and flew back to avoid Phobos' wrath.

"I see that the air wielders have finally decided to join the party. Tell me, children, where are your precious dragons now?" The group gasped as Phobos showed them an energy sphere with all five elemental dragons in them. They were all out cold and suspended in midair!

"What's your deal Phobos?" Irma asked. Hay Lin began to growl at Phobos, and Eric found himself joining in. Caleb looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Down, doggies. Don't want me to crush them. Not yet, anyway. Don't you want to know how I escaped?" Phobos taunted. Hay Lin settled for snarling at him instead, her pointed teeth causing Cornelia to inch away from her slightly.

"I was visited by a being of immense knowledge and power. It has no name, but I shall refer to it as the Black for now. The Black gave me a taste of its power- and ordered me to bring it a suitable host. Only a Keeper or Guardian Descendant can withstand its might. So, when I heard that the air Guardian had been kidnapped I set off to find her- I never expected to find two bonus hosts though." Phobos said, looking at the spot where Cassidy and Angelo were hiding. He held out his hand and aimed another beam of green at them, but Hay Lin was faster. She transformed in midair and grabbed them before Phobos could, then circled back to the group and dropped them down lightly in the back.

"Couldn't you just not interfere for once? I need to bring it more than one of you- I can't fail! It will kill me!" he yelled. He brought the dragons in front of him.

"Give me what I want- or I crush them all!" Phobos threatened, shrinking their prison to show he was serious.

"The two humans and the air Guardian- human form- will come with me and I will leave. I can even wipe the memories of all the humans that were involved in her capture- they know about the rest of you too." he said.

"_What do we do? We can't let them kill the dragons! Remember what the Oracle said?" _Nigel asked the group through telepathy. There was a pause before anyone answered.

"_We can't let them hurt the dragons!" _Hay Lin thought back as she transformed back into a human.

"_Lets ask Cassidy and Angelo. It's unfair to offer them up without their consent." Taranee said._

"_Hey guys! It's Cassidy. I'm pretty sure I speak for the both of us when I say we have to do this. I didn't know about the dragons until now, but if what Taranee says is true there's no other choice. I''ll go." _She looked to Angelo and he nodded.

"We accept. We'll go with you, but release the dragons first!" Angelo said bravely. He, Cassidy and Hay Lin stepped forward to face the evil prince. Phobos grinned and opened a bright green fold behind him. He then released the dragons, who fell not so gracefully onto the groups heads. Finally, with a flick of his wrist Cassidy, Angelo and Hay Lin were gagged and bound with green energy.

"The humans won't remember a thing about this. Pleasure doing business with you. And in the end, you all did get the better end of the deal. After all, all you lost was one Guardian and two allies." With that, Phobos ushered his three prisoners into the fold and they were gone.

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Cassidy, Angelo and Hay Lin found themselves in a dark tunnel, where the only light came from the eerie green fold they'd just come from. Phobos closed it and they were suddenly glad that their bindings also emitted a small amount of light. Phobos led them through, ushering them in front of him. He seemed nervous, and wouldn't let the trio stop at all. After a few turns, they came to a large cavern that was only lighted in one part of the room. The rest was an inky darkness that seemed to stretch on forever.

"I brought three suitable hosts, just like you asked." Phobos said, looking directly at the darkness. Cassidy looked at Hay Lin with a raised eyebrow, but she just shrugged. The girls looked back to the darkness and they were suddenly ever so grateful for the magic that prevented them from screaming. The darkness in the cave was alive- and it was moving towards them!

The three prisoners attempted to back away, but Phobos used his green magic to hold them down. Hay Lin shook like a leaf, and Cassidy wasn't much better. Angelo tried his best to put on a brave face, but as the darkness surrounded them he looked like he wanted to run away screaming too. The darkness formed three tendrils of the stuff that began to drip to the floor as it stretched out to touch them. They touched the foreheads of them all at the same time, but nothing happened. The sludge-like substance began to drip down their faces as they waited for something to happen.

The tendrils suddenly dropped to the floor, no longer moving. The mass began to form a face with multiple glowing red eyes.

"These hosts are not compatible. You have failed me." came a deep, cracked voice. Phobos shrank back in fear.

"B-but I brought what you specified! Two Guardians Descendants and a Keeper-"

"I am not yet strong enough to inhabit their bodies. You were supposed to weaken the hosts before bringing them. I will have to take back what is mine." the mass sprouted more tendrils that grabbed Phobos.

"No! We had a deal!" Phobos shouted, trying to escape his master.

"The deal was you bring me a host to inhabit. I cannot inhabit any of their bodies, so the deal is off." the voice said, apparently not caring about his former minion at all. Phobos looked back to the three prisoners he'd captured and grimaced before releasing them. Hay Lin sprang into action and sent a blade of air to free Phobos. The entire black mass had come alive with red glowing eyes and tendrils, approaching the humans with apparent anger.

"You will not escape. These tunnels go for miles and I will overwhelm you before you find an exit." it said, reaching out for them. Cassidy and Angelo helped Phobos up as Hay Lin blasted the Black with a barrage of air, holding it back.

"Can you open a fold out of here?" Cassidy asked the evil Prince. He nodded and stood up on his own before opening a green fold. It stayed open for a moment before faltering and closing abruptly.

"I can't do it with the Black so close! We need to get as far away as we can-" Phobos was cut off as Hay Lin in her dragon form grabbed him roughly and put him on her neck. Cassidy and Angelo jumped on behind him as Hay Lin flew off down the tunnels, the Black not far behind.

"Take a left here!" Phobos directed. Hay Lin made the sharp turn, narrowly avoiding hitting the walls of the tunnels.

"You're gonna have to do that faster, I can only turn on such short notice!" she grumbled. They continued along, Phobos giving directions to escape the tunnels. But there was no denying it, the Black was gaining on them.

"We need to go faster!" Phobos hissed to Hay Lin, grabbing her horns tightly. She took a deep breath and tried to speed up, but she could not go fast enough to escape the Black.

"I can't go much faster than this without killing us!" Hay Lin said as she turned a sharp corner, slamming her tail against the wall and causing a small avalanche. The falling rocks fell into the mass chasing them and it slowed down a bit to absorb it.

"That's it! Cause a cave in!" Phobos shouted, shooting a ball of energy at the wall. Hay Lin kept flying at her breakneck speed and slamming the walls whenever she made a turn.

"Cassidy! What type of Guardian am I descended from?" Angelo shouted over the wind.

"Uh, Kadma! Earth Guardian! Powers over plants, earth, levitation-"

"Good enough!" Angelo said as he focused on the cave walls. For a few turns, only pebbles were sent into the mass. But finally, with a loud grunt Angelo managed to collapse one of the walls, slowing down the mass enough so that they could escape.

"Great job!" Cassidy said. Hay Lin turned another corner and they saw daylight shining from the exit.

"We're free!" Hay Lin cheered as she flew towards their salvation. She shot out of the tunnel and flew higher into the air, leaving the caves behind. The land around them was barren and gray, with no signs of life anywhere.

"Lets get out of here before it comes back." Hay Lin said, turning her head around as she floated in the air. Phobos nodded and slashed the air in front of them, once again opening a sickly green fold. Hay Lin shot through, back into the clearing where they had been taken, and bowled over Caleb in her frantic flight. Phobos closed the portal behind them and she landed unsteadily, letting her riders off. The others rushed towards them, but Phobos made no move to escape. Hay Lin shrank into her human form and grinned at the others.

"We got away safely! And Phobos helped. He opened the fold-"

"Please, stop Air Guardian." Hay Lin let out a breath of air as Phobos turned the the angry group around him.

"I know I have done many things- horrible things. But I would like to offer my help to your cause. I know the location of the Black, and have a portion of its powers." he said.

"And what would you like in return?" Will questioned, looking over their former enemy.

"I guess a sort of immunity- when the Black comes, I want nothing to do with it. I don't even want to be on the same planet. After this, you can lock me up forever if you wish but please, spare me from that thing!" he said, fear distinct in his voice. Will looked to the others, who nodded.

"Uh, we'd be honored to have your help, but I-" Will was cut off as a fold opened in front of them. Hay Lin yelped and hid behind Eric quickly. But as everyone took their fighting stances, Halinor walked out.

"Have no fear Guardians, Guard. The Oracle has been watching, and will handle things from here on out. He wishes to speak with Phobos." she said, motioning for the prince to follow her. Phobos hesitated, and Halinor smiled.

"Do not worry. The Oracle would not allow you into Kandrakar if he expected you to have malevolent intentions. Come with me." she said. Phobos nodded and followed Halinor into the portal, leaving the teens alone once more.

"...What now?" Nigel asked. The dragons stayed close to their respective guardians and watched them silently debate what to do. The group looked back and forth to each other, unsure of what to do. For a few moments everyone was silent, and then Cornelia said what was on all of their minds.

"Lets tell our families about this- all of it." There was a general murmur of approval among them all.

"We can get them all to come to the Silver Dragon!" Hay Lin said excitedly.

"Alright. Hay Lin will go to the Silver Dragon and explain everything to her parents, while the rest of us just get them. No explanations for now, it'll be easier that way." Will said. Everyone nodded and the two leaders returned them to their normal human forms. Hay Lin giggled and turned invisible. There was a light gust of wind signaling she had taken off. Feng and the other dragons followed suit, Phyrros picking up Naida.

"Angelo, do you want to join us?" Will asked.

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_"Actually, Will, after all that's happened, I feel like walking home.", Angelo said._

_"You sure?", Will questioned with a raised eyebrow._

_"Yep.", Angelo said. "I really need to clear my head after all of this."_

_"Well... If you say so.", Will said. "Catch you later."_

_"Yeah sure.", Angelo said as he began to walk off._

_Suddenly, Cassidy ran up to Angelo and began walking with him._

_"And where do you think you're going?", Cassidy questioned with a smirk. "You still owe me a walk home, mister! Now let's go!"_

_With a grin, Angelo offered Cassidy his arm, which she took as they walked off together._

_"Is it me, or is Angelo trying to avoid us?", Irma questioned._

_"Worry not, young ones.", Phyrros said. "I felt his thoughts. He just needs time to absorb all of this."_

_"I guess some people have a hard time accepting things.", Taranee said._

_"That or rich-boy is just to freaked out by all of this.", Caleb said with a smirk._

_"Watch it, rebel-boy.", Cornelia said. "I happen to be a rich kid. So, watch what you say.", making Caleb gulp._

_"And I shall not stand for anyone insulting the grandson of a Guardian.", Terra said. "Know this, Caleb. If you and Cornelia weren't as close as she says you two are, then it would be young Angelo who would be her Guard and not you."_

_"Why? Because he's Kadma's grandson?", Caleb question._

_"That and he is quite the fighter.", Terra said with a smirk._

_"And brave as well.", Naida said. "Through the eyes of young Cassidy, I saw how he stood up to Phobos even after seeing what he was capable of."_

_"That's Angelo for you.", Will said with a grin. "I remember one time, when I was nine, there was this bully that tried to take my lunch money. And he was tall! But that didn't stop Angelo from stranding up to him. He even beat the guy. Granted it got him a black eye and a fat lip.", she said with a grin. "It was one of the few times that reminded me that if push came to shove, Angelo ad my back."_

_"Quite a friend you have there.", Essence said with a smile that Will returned._

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Hay Lin flew above the buildings happily, but she still felt extremely nervous. What if her family was angry? Or not there? Or worse? She shook those thoughts from her head as the Silver Dragon came into sight. She took a deep breath and flew to her room's window, which she was surprised to find open. She landed inside softly and turned herself visible again. The house/restaurant was unusually quiet, and she went downstairs to see what was happening. There was no one there, so she decided to call out.

"Mom? Dad? Grandma?" she looked around, curious as to where they could be. All of a sudden she heard a pounding noise and turned to see her parents and grandmother running down the stairs, eyes full of tears.

"Hay Lin! You're home! You're home!"

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_"Well, that was fun.", Cassidy said as they were walking home. "It's good to be able to walk home instead of being trapped in some kind of base."_

_"I guess you're right.", Angelo said. "It's just that, it's a bit weird seeing Will take on someone like Phobos.", he said with a grin._

_"Why?", Cassidy asked with a grin. "Cause she's a girl?"_

_"What? No!", Angelo said. "It's just that, when we were younger, Will wasn't that much of a fighter. I mean Uncle John offered to give her a few pointers, but she wasn't into it. The last fight I say her in, was against the school bully, back in Fadden Hills."_

_"Let me guess. You stepped in and stopped the guy from pounding Will.", Cassidy figured._

_"Well, yeah.", Angelo said._

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The Black oozed its way towards the surface. It had been a long time since it had devoured a planet with life. This planet was all but barren, it doubted there was anything remotely worthwhile on this place that it had taken. Now as it reached the mouth of the cave it began to plot and plan to devour a new planet- one it had smelt on three young humans.

_Fin._


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